Infertility due to polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) is a worldwide problem that is increasing at alarming rates. Insulin resistance, the prime factor of PCOS, induces comorbid metabolic syndrome as well. Durian (Durio zibenthinus Linn), a fruit of Southeast Asia, is used as a natural supplement in healthy diets. This paper is a short literature review that examines the fruit's effects against various components of metabolic syndrome and its fertility-enhancing properties in PCOS. Various published literature was reviewed to learn of the anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant, anti-obesity, anticholesterol, and antihypoglycaemic nature of the fruit. The literature search was done using PubMed, Google Scholar and library databases. The keywords used were polycystic ovarian syndrome, infertility, metabolic syndrome and Durian zibenthinus Linn. Reviewed studies showed that the fruit is effective against various components of metabolic syndrome, but the mechanisms of action against anovulation and menstrual disturbances in PCOS have yet to be studied. The traditional use of durian as a fertility-enhancing agent needs to be validated scientifically by isolating its various components and ascertaining its fertility enhancing properties.
Bombacaceae ; chemistry ; Female ; Fruit ; Humans ; Infertility, Female ; drug therapy ; etiology ; Phytotherapy ; Polycystic Ovary Syndrome ; drug therapy

OBJECTIVETo investigate the cough-relieving, analgesic and antibiotic effects of durian shell extract (DSE) in relieving cough and its analgesic and antibiotic effects.

METHODSThe effect of DSE in relieving cough was assessed in mice challenged with ammonia and SO(2) to induce coughing. The analgesic and antibiotic effects of DSE in mice were evaluated by hot plate test and twisting reaction induced by acetic acid, and by minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) and disc-agar diffusion tests, respectively.

RESULTSCompared with the control group, the mice treated with 300 and 900 mg/kg DSE showed significantly prolonged latency with decreased number of coughing induced by ammonia and SO(2), and the effect was dose-dependent. DSE markedly prolonged the latency and decreased the twisting number of the mice induced by acetic acid without affecting the pain threshold in hot plate test. DSE produced no significant inhibitory effects against Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis, or E. coli, and showed a week inhibition against Bacillus aeruginosus.

CONCLUSIONDSE shows obvious effect in relieving cough and produces better analgesic effect against chemical factor-induced pain than against physical agent-induced pain sensation. DSE has a moderate inhibitory effect against Bacillus aeruginosus.

Analgesics ; pharmacology ; Animals ; Anti-Bacterial Agents ; pharmacology ; Antitussive Agents ; pharmacology ; Bombacaceae ; chemistry ; Male ; Mice ; Plant Extracts ; pharmacology ; Random Allocation

As Korea is moving toward multicultural society, the number of Muslim, whose religion has a great influence on diet-related behaviors, is increasing in Korea. Since the number of immigrants from Indonesia ranks within top ten in Korea and Indonesia is one of the most representative Islamic countries in Asia, understanding the diet-related behaviors and food preferences of Indonesians is needed. This study was conducted to investigate diet-related behaviors, factors affecting the diet-related perceptions, and food preferences of the Indonesians. The subjects included 500 Indonesians dwelling in Jakarta, Indonesia. About ninety % of the subjects in this study were Muslims. They did not eat pork and dog meat for religious reason and they practiced fasting during Ramadan period. Indonesians avoided pineapple, durian, and hot foods during pregnancy and usually ate vegetables and fruits after birth, which seemed to be due to sociocultural influence. Among the subjects, 21.5% were obese and major health problems reported were hypertension and hyperlipidemia. Their preference for fried food items might have contributed to health problems. Subjects had meals mostly at home (2.3 times/day) and dined out occasionally (1.2 times/ week) at Indonesian restaurants (56.6%) or family restaurants (21.0%). In conclusion, Indonesians had home-based and native food-oriented dietary life with strong religious and sociocultural influence on food choices. Further research on specific nutrient intake analysis is needed to better understand and to improve dietary life of Indonesians in Korea.
Ananas ; Animals ; Asia ; Bombacaceae ; Dogs ; Emigrants and Immigrants ; Fasting ; Food Preferences* ; Fruit ; Humans ; Hyperlipidemias ; Hypertension ; Indonesia ; Islam ; Korea ; Meals ; Meat ; Parturition ; Pregnancy ; Restaurants ; Vegetables

The present study was designed to explore the mechanism by which ethanol extract of Bombax ceiba leaves (BCE) and its main constituent mangiferin (MGF) affect diabetic nephropathy by combating oxidative stress. Oral administration of BCE and MGF to normal and streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic mice were carried out. Fasting blood glucose, 24-h urinary albumin, serum creatinine, and blood urea nitrogen were tested, histopathology, and immunohistochemical analysis of kidney tissues were performed. Moreover, mesangial cells were treated with BCE and MGF for 48 h with or without 25 mmol·L of glucose. Immunofluorescence, Western blot and apoptosis analyses were used to investigate their regulation of oxidative stress and mitochondrial function. BCE and MGF ameliorated biochemical parameters and restored STZ-induced renal injury in the model mice. In vitro study showed that high glucose stimulation increased oxidative stress and cell apoptosis in mesangial cells. BCE and MGF limited mitochondrial membrane potential (Δψm) collapse by inhibiting Nox4, mitochondrially bound hexokinase II dissociation, and subsequent ROS production, which effectively reduced oxidative stress, cleaved caspase-3 expression and cell apoptosis. Our work indicated that BCE and MGF had protective effects on diabetic caused kidney injury and prevented oxidative stress in mesangial cells by regulation of hexokinase II binding and Nox4 oxidase signaling.
Animals ; Blood Glucose ; metabolism ; Bombax ; chemistry ; Caspase 3 ; genetics ; metabolism ; Diabetic Nephropathies ; drug therapy ; genetics ; metabolism ; Humans ; Male ; Mice ; Oxidative Stress ; drug effects ; Plant Extracts ; administration & dosage ; Plant Leaves ; chemistry ; Xanthones ; administration & dosage

OBJECTIVETo examine the anti-bacterial activity of leaf extracts of Morus alba L. (Moraceae) and Piper betel L. (Piperaceae), and seed extracts of Bombax ceiba L. (Borabacaceae).

METHODSWe have partially purified plant extracts by solvent extraction method, and evaluated the effect of individual fractions on bacterial growth using Escherichia coli (E. coli), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P. aeruginosa) and Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) bacterial strains.

RESULTSCompared with Morus and Bombax fractions, Piper fractions showed significant growth inhibition on all the three types of bacteria studied. The EtOAc-hexane fractions of Piper leaves exhibited significant anti-bacterial activity with minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) of 50 µg/mL culture against both gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria. The EtOAc-fractions I, II, and IV inhibited bacterial colony formation on soft agar in addition to growth inhibition. A combination treatment of piper fractions with ampicillin resulted in significant growth inhibition in E. coli and P. aeruginosa, and combination with anticancer drug geldanamycin (2µg/mL) showed selective growth inhibition against P. aeruginosa and S. aureus. Three major compounds, i.e., eugenol, 3-hexene-ol and stigmasterol, were primarily identified from Piper betel leaf extractions. Among the individual compounds, eugenol treatment showed improved growth inhibition compared with stigmasterol and 3-hexene-ol.

CONCLUSIONSWe are reporting potential anti-bacterial compounds from Piper betel against both gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria either alone or in combination with drug treatment.

Anti-Bacterial Agents ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; pharmacology ; Bombax ; chemistry ; Colony Count, Microbial ; Drug Synergism ; Escherichia coli ; drug effects ; India ; Microbial Sensitivity Tests ; Morus ; chemistry ; Piper ; chemistry ; Plant Extracts ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; pharmacology ; Plants, Medicinal ; chemistry ; Pseudomonas aeruginosa ; drug effects ; Staphylococcus aureus ; drug effects

The present study aimed at exploring the therapeutic potential of standard extract of Bombax ceiba L. leaves (BCE) in type 2 diabetic mellitus (T2DM). Oral administration of BCE at doses of 70, 140, and 280 mg·kg, to the normal rats and the high-fat-diet- and streptozotocin-induced T2DM rats were carried out. Effects of BCE on blood glucose, body weight, and a range of serum biochemical parameters were tested, and histopathological observation of pancreatic tissues was also performed. HPLC-ESI-Q/TOF-MS/MS analysis indicated that the chemical composition of BCE mainly contained mangiferin, isoorientin, vitexin, isomangiferin, isovitexin, quercetin hexoside, 2'-trans-O-cumaroyl mangiferin, and nigricanside. BCE caused a significant decrease in the concentrations of fasting blood glucose, glycosylated hemoglobin, total cholesterol, triglyceride, low density lipoprotein-cholesterol, serum insulin, and malondialdehyde, and increases in oral glucose tolerance, high density lipoprotein-cholesterol, and superoxide dismutase in the T2DM model rats. Moreover, considerable pancreatic β-cells protection effect and stimulation of insulin secretion from the remaining pancreatic β-cells could be observed after BCE treatment. The results indicated that BCE exhibited an excellent hypoglycemic activity, and alleviated dyslipidemia which is associated with T2DM. Antioxidant activity and protecting pancreatic β-cells are the possible mechanisms involved in anti-diabetic activity of BCE.
Animals ; Antioxidants ; administration & dosage ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; Blood Glucose ; metabolism ; Bombax ; chemistry ; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 ; drug therapy ; metabolism ; Humans ; Hypoglycemic Agents ; administration & dosage ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; Hypolipidemic Agents ; administration & dosage ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; Male ; Plant Extracts ; administration & dosage ; chemistry ; isolation & purification ; Plant Leaves ; chemistry ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley

This study examined the total polyphenol content of eight wild edible plants from Ethiopia and their effect on NO production in Raw264.7 cells. Owing to its relatively high polyphenol concentration and inhibition of NO production, the methanol extract of Adansonia digitata L. leaf (MEAD) was subjected to detailed evaluation of its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects. Antioxidant effects were assessed by measuring free-radical-scavenging activity using 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and oxygen-radical-absorbance capacity (ORAC) assays, while anti-inflammatory effects were assessed by measuring inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) expression in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated RAW264.7 cells. In the ORAC assay, MEAD was 10.2 times more potent than vitamin C at eliminating peroxyl radicals. In DPPH assay, MEAD also showed a strong ROS scavenging effect. MEAD significantly inhibited iNOS activity (IC50=28.6 microg/ml) of LPS-stimulated Raw264.7 cells. We also investigated the relationship between iNOS expression and nuclear factor kappa B (NF-kappaB) activation. MEAD inhibited IkappaBa degradation and NF-kappaB translocation from the cytosol to the nucleus in LPS-induced RAW264.7 cells without significant cytotoxic effects, as confirmed by MTT assay. These results suggest that MEAD inhibits anti-inflammatory iNOS expression, which might be related to the elimination of peroxyl radicals and thus the inhibition of IkappaBa-mediated NF-kappaB signal transduction.
Adansonia* ; Antioxidants ; Ascorbic Acid ; Cytosol ; Ethiopia ; Methanol* ; NF-kappa B* ; Nitric Oxide Synthase Type II ; Plants, Edible ; Signal Transduction